Week 11 Fantasy Football Running Back Waiver Adds: Woody Marks, Tyler Allgeier and More

After a few weeks where the fantasy football waiver wire was bursting with tempting running back pickups, things look relatively bare heading into Week 11.

With that said, there are still some names to consider, both surprising breakouts and players who really should have been widely rostered weeks ago. Let's get right into it. 

Check out fantasy football waiver wire targets all season on FantasySP. 

Woody Marks, Houston Texans (67.2% Rostered)

I'll keep this one quick, as I imagine Marks has been rostered for weeks — if not months — in most competitive fantasy leagues. But the rookie is clearly slipping under the radar in some shallow formats. And, prior to this week, that made some sense, as he was stuck in a fairly even timeshare with Nick Chubb.

But that changed this week. Yes, it was a negative game script, which favors Marks as the pass-catcher of the Texans' backfield. But Houston has been in plenty of negative game scripts, and he has never seen usage this good. Marks set easily new career highs in snap share (80%, up from 63%) and RB rush share (74%, up from 67%). 

Marks turned this usage into 15.9 half-PPR points, his second-best outing of the season. Even if the split tilts back toward 50/50, he already had flex value. If he maintains the lead role over Chubb, he could become a legit RB3. He should be rostered in essentially all formats.  

Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta Falcons (32.8% Rostered)

Allgeier had a big game in Germany, scoring two one-yard TDs en route to 17.7 points and an RB7 finish (pending MNF). However, this really doesn't change his outlook … but it was already promising enough that he should have been rostered in far more than roughly a third of leagues.

Allgeier is clearly the Falcons' RB2. He has averaged just a 29% snap share for the season, while Bijan Robinson is at 78%. But he also has a solid role behind Robinson: Allgeier has handled 74 carries this season (8.2 per game), including five of the backfield's seven inside the five-yard line (and 13 of 18 inside the 10). 

As proven this week, Allgeier's role is enough that he can sometimes provide standalone value. But the real reason he should be rostered everywhere is that he is arguably the single most valuable handcuff in the league. 

If Bijan were to be unavailable, Allgeier would immediately dominate all valuable work (with the exception of perhaps some passing-game snaps) in Atlanta's offense. And he is more than good enough to turn that usage into consistent fantasy production. Whether you're looking for a desperation flex/RB3 play or just an elite contingent-upside bet, there should be space on your bench for Allgeier. 

Bam Knight, Arizona Cardinals (34.9% Rostered)

One of the rules of this weekly article is that “any back who is an NFL team's RB1 should be rostered.” And this week, Zonovan “Bam” Knight served as the Cardinals' RB1. He led the backfield in snap share (47%) and carries (10 to Emari Demercado's four) and tied for the lead with four targets (an 8.9% target share). 

In fact, Knight's usage was so good that, according to Fantasy Points Data, he ranked as the RB5 on the week with 18.6 expected half-PPR points. Obviously, his actual result of 3.8 points is laughable in comparison, but this was a tough matchup with the Seahawks' defense in a horrendously negative game script.

You can never have enough running back volume in fantasy football, so Knight should be rostered as long as he is seeing this volume. 

Emari Demercado, Arizona Cardinals (31.1% Rostered)

That's right, it's another Arizona running back (there might be a reason these guys aren't rostered in more leagues). While Knight was the clear RB1 on Sunday, Demercado was also involved.

He played just four fewer snaps for a 41% snap share, led the backfield in routes, and saw four carries and four targets of his own. Unlike Knight, Demercado was also efficient with his touches, finishing with a solid 11.9 half-PPR points.

There is also a chance that — especially given he is now averaging nine yards per carry this season — Demercado will see more work in future games. Just last week, he led the team with 14 carries for a very solid 61% RB rush share.

With James Conner and Trey Benson sidelined, the Cardinals have tried seemingly every possible breakdown of work between this duo and Michael Carter. In deeper leagues, Demercado's current spot on that merry-go-round is worth chasing. 

Sean Tucker, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5.3% Rostered)

Here are Tucker's RB rush shares in weeks since Bucky Irving went down with an injury: 18%, 26%, 9%, 41%, and 47%. As Rachaad White has dealt with a few injuries of his own and been his usual inefficient self, Tampa Bay has leaned more on the 2023 UDFA. 

Tucker isn't much of a pass-catcher, with just five catches for negative four receiving yards on the season. But he's seeing carries, including three goal-line attempts in his last two outings. Especially given that Irving is still without a timetable to return, according to Tampa HC Todd Bowles, he's worth considering in deeper formats.  

Jaylen Wright, Miami Dolphins (2.8% Rostered)

For a while, the second-year back was an afterthought in the Dolphins' backfield. He missed a couple of games with a knee injury to start the season, and then was not involved at all after returning. Miami's offense obviously leans heavily on De'Von Achane, while rookie Ollie Gordon II served as the change-of-pace option and backup. Wright has actually been a healthy scratch for most of the season, including as recently as last week. 

But Wright was not just active for the Dolphins' upset over the Bills this week, he was involved. Wright played 10 snaps (19%), handing five carries and running one route. Meanwhile, Gordon saw just one carry on only three snaps (6%). This shift may have been because Gordon was dealing with an ankle injury. But it's not as though Wright only came in after Gordon reaggravated his issue — the second-year back had already recorded three carries before the rookie's first (and only) touch. 

There's a real chance this is all a big nothing-burger. Wright could be a healthy scratch again next week if his usage this week was only because of Gordon's injury. But in deeper formats, potential changes to the backfield pecking order in a still-elite offense are worth monitoring.

Don't spend more than a dollar or two of deep-league FAAB on Wright, but he's suddenly a name to at least consider as a stash. After all, Gordon was 11.6% rostered coming into this week — Wright should move toward that number, at least a little bit.